Scott Walker likes to claim his “tools” are working. He likes to say that schools across the state are getting better under his policies. Everyday, Walker and his allies take to the airwaves with misinformation aimed at convincing the people of Wisconsin that there is nothing to worry about, that he cares about education, that his reforms are improving our public schools.
All the corporate money in the world cannot hide the truth, however. Our public education system, once the envy of the nation, is suffering severely. A recent poll done of those on the front line of Walker’s war on education shows just how bad it has gotten.
The comprehensive survey, conducted by School Employees United, polled the staff at schools throughout southeast Wisconsin (excluding Milwaukee Public Schools). The results document the destruction being caused by the Walker budget cuts. Some of the key findings show that:
• 43.5% of respondents say class sizes are increasing
• 78.2% of respondents disagree with the statement that the schools are the same or better off than last year
• 75.8% of respondents say their school district has fewer resources this year to meet the needs of all children as individuals
• 57% of respondents have recently considered leaving their profession
• 71.5% of respondents would not recommend a career in education to a friend or college student
These results are especially disturbing given widespread agreement among district administrators that next year’s funding shortage will be significantly worse than this year. The districts in the survey combined had over $13 million in federal Education Jobs Fund money available that will not be available next year.
Clearly, the Walker approach to preparing our children for the future goes against the values of Wisconsin families. As a state we cannot endure, as the Superintendent of schools in Monona Grove recently stated, anymore of Scott Walker’s disastrous approach to education. Cutting taxes for large corporations at the expense of our children is not the way the people of Wisconsin do business.
